Woman, 76, who needed palliative care died after 21 hour A and E wait
A coroner has slammed a Yorkshire hospital after a 76 year old woman died in a way that was "not acceptable or dignified" after spending 21 hours in A and E.
Kathleen Ward was admitted to A and E at Hull Royal Infirmary with pneumonia in February this year, but was told there were no suitable beds for her, despite the department having a target of four hours to find a bed when a patient is admitted.
An inquest heard that she should have been taken to Queens Centre in Cottingham, where specialist end-of-life care is given to patients, but there were no beds available when Mrs Ward’s condition deteriorated.
Instead she was taken to the emergency department, which was a “location that did not have the specialism, the medication, or the privacy to care for her in her final hours,” according to area coroner Lorraine Harris.
Mrs Ward was living with malignant mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure, and also had chronic kidney disease.
The inquest into her death heard that because she was put in A and E, a “lack of understanding lead to issues over appropriate pain relief being administered to Mrs Ward in a timely manner.”
Shortly before she died, she was moved from a quiet area of A and E to a six-bed bay where she passed away.
Lorraine Harris said: “I can only echo the words of a nurse, it was not acceptable or dignified.
"Space being taken up in the Emergency Department also means that those requiring life saving emergency treatment may be delayed in receiving appropriate care.”
In a letter sent to the chief executive of Hull Royal Infirmary, Ms Harris said: “Since Mrs Ward’s death I have heard that although some processes are in place to try to prevent patients on palliative care being taken to the Emergency Department (bed modelling and capacity), it still occurs at least once a week, and that there has been no increase in the bed space available at the Queens Centre.
“Beds at Queen Centre treat both those with life limiting conditions, on palliative care and those on end of life care. The lack of bed space means that people are still being treated in unsuitable environments, by staff who do not have a specialism in palliative care and medical pain relief required at end of life.”
The hospital now has 56 days to respond to Ms Harris’s letter to demonstrate how it plans to prevent future deaths occuring similar to Mrs Ward’s.